Protein Bar
by ikigai.potter
Summary: Sometimes, it's the most insignificant details that are the most telling. Non-massacre. ItaSaku
1. Chapter 1

_**Protein Bar:**_ _Sometimes, it's the most insignificant details that are the most telling._

 **I do not own any rights to Naruto.**

Shinobi were never comfortable in a hospital.

Naturally, their profession required quite a fair share of time spent in medical facilities and clinics. It was an unavoidable part of their job. However, despite how accommodating and professional the resident staff and medics strived to make the space, there was always going to be an air of discomfort and the sting of raw memories of loss and pain associate with the place for the ninja who frequented it.

Uchiha Itachi was a hardened shinobi. ANBU rank by age 11, captain at 13, current leader of squad Alpha, the deadliest task force the village of Konohagakure had at its disposal; there were very few things that would faze him.

But, even he did not like to spend time in the hospital.

Therefore, when the Hokage became aware of his condition and requested that he make an appointment with one of the available medics, he politely refused. When she threw her sake bottle at him in a less-than-polite request, he dodged both the physical and verbal blow.

When she pulled rank and threatened to suspend him, leaving him stranded in the village for a month with nothing but D-ranked missions and familial duties, he sighed and walked directly from her office to the nearby hospital.

Her orders were, of course, strict and left no room for negotiation.

 _"March your ass over to my apprentice's office and get your eyes fixed immediately, Uchiha, or, so help me, I will have you chasing cats up trees and staring at wrinkled Uchiha elders for a month straight!"_

Itachi was left wondering at times like this how that woman, with her fiery temper and foul mouth, had managed to become Hokage in the first place.

The automatic doors of the main hospital entrance opened as he strode confidently into the building, willing himself not to betray an ounce of anxiety and the white-walled, antiseptic-smelling space. Once he reached the front desk, he courteously asked the head nurse where he could find the Hokage's apprentice.

"Haruno-sama?" the woman replied. She glanced quickly at the clock hanging on a nearby wall and replied, "You came at just the right time! She should be in her office on break at the moment. If you hurry, you should be able to catch her."

Nodding his thanks, he made his way down the hall in the direction she pointed and soon found himself in the administrative wing of the hospital. Wandering slowly down the stretch of hall, he carefully glanced at every nametag until he came to the one that stated in clear, bold letters:

 ** _Haruno Sakura, Chief Medic_**

He found himself silently surprised at the title. He wasn't aware that his otouto's teammate had made such a name for herself. The way he talked about her, it was hard to imagine she had grown from the overdramatic 12-year-old teammate who spent more time on her hair routine than her training regimen.

Forcing himself to quickly reevaluate his own preconceptions of the Hokage's apprentice, he knocked firmly on her door and awaited her soft approval before entering.

Even given his own standing in the village, he had to admit that her office was impressive. A full bay of windows made up the outer wall of the office, bathing the space in fresh sunshine. Beneath the windows sat a large, plush sofa that he imagined was used for private patient visits. Every available inch of wall space was either filled up with bookshelves or anatomical drawings. Despite that, piles of tomes littered the floor surrounding the wooden shelves. In the center of the space, a great oak desk dominated the room. Across its surface were hundreds of sheets of papers: forms, personal notes, clinical records.

And, behind that desk, hunched over a stack of those papers, was the Hokage's infamous apprentice.

She should have been dwarfed by the space and the coordinated chaos that filled it. Yet, somehow, with her bright pink locks messily pulled back with a senbon and her austere white coat, with its sleeves rolled up to her elbows, she seemed an integral part of the room.

She didn't look up right away at his entrance, so engrossed was she in her work. Her pen moved swiftly across a scroll as her eyes absorbed line after line of a massive book. In her other hand, she held what looked like a simple granola bar. As she turned the page of the textbook, she seemed to remember that the meager snack was in her hands and take a quick bite of it, then continued on as before, fully captivated by her study.

Itachi imagined that he could have stood there all day waiting for her to look up from her book. However, eager as he was to escape the hospital, he made his presence known. Clearing his throat softly, he was vaguely amused at the way she seemed startled by his interruption, as if she hadn't invited him in in the first place.

He surmised that her surprise must have come more from the fact that he was the last person in the world she expected to show up in her office.

"Uchiha-san," she greeted belatedly, blinking owlishly. "How can I help you?"

"Haruno-san. I hope I'm not disturbing you."

In the next few seconds, she seemed to come back to herself.

"Not at all!"

Glancing between the scroll, the book, and her snack, he watched her not-so-internal struggle to maintain professionalism. Snatching a seemingly random paper off of her desk, she shoved it in the textbook and slammed it shut, simultaneously chewing the bite of granola bar she had taken just before his arrival as quickly as possible.

Surprisingly, rather than being irritated at the time it took for her to collect herself, he found the display rather…amusing. Coming from an environment where any show of discomposure was immediately frowned upon, it was almost refreshing to find someone so _human_.

She seemed to understand that she was keeping him waiting. Standing abruptly from her chair, she brushed her skirt free of crumbs and repeated her earlier question.

"How can I help you?"

"The Hokage… _requested_ that I come see you."

His less-than-informative reply left her puzzled for a moment and, as a result, she appeared to look him up and down, giving him a physical exam from across the room. He could have simply told her what was wrong with him, but he was suddenly overcome with an innate curiosity to see what she would deduce for herself.

Or, at least, that's what he told himself. It certainly had nothing to do with the fact that he was unwilling to relinquish any kind of perceived shortcoming on his own.

Once her head-to-toe scan of him was complete, he was left at a complete loss when she met his eyes once more and graced him with a small smile.

"I see. Why don't you have a seat on the couch? This should only take a moment."

Feeling an eyebrow quirk at her unexpected answer, he nodded and acquiesced to her request, strolling over to the large, grey sofa he had taken note of before and sitting down on it. She followed shortly after, straightening her coat and plopping down on the couch across from him, making herself comfortable in a cross-legged position.

"Now," she began, searching his features carefully, "how long have your eyes been hurting you?"

He stiffened, mildly shocked that she had managed to infer as much in a matter of seconds. No one outside of his clan other than the Hokage was aware of his condition, and his family took great pains to keep the results of Sharingan overuse a great secret. Any weakness to the clan's great doujutsu would bring harm to their hard-earned reputation.

Some of his misgivings must have slipped through his ironclad mask, as she smiled ironically at his reaction.

"Oh please, Uchiha-san. I've been teammates since childhood with not one, but two Sharingan users. I could hardly call myself a medic if I miss something so obvious as an organ strained from chakra overuse."

Her light tone set him slightly more on edge. That she talked so casually about such a well-kept secret…

"You must understand," he intoned carefully, attempting to convey the seriousness of his condition, a condition that many of his clansmen shared, "that any word of this…condition would only serve to weaken a great number of Konoha shinobi."

His words had an unanticipated result. Now she appeared well and truly offended before him. With a narrowed gaze and pinched professional tone, she bit back, "What I understand _Uchiha-san_ is that my duty as a medic-nin of Konoha would prohibit me from divulging any patient condition without their explicit consent."

It had been a long time since Uchiha Itachi had felt properly chastised. Not since his childhood, at least. Sakura's words filled him with a strange feeling of instant regret that he was completely unfamiliar with.

"Forgive me." Words he had so rarely had the occasion to use. "It was not my intention to offend you."

Her strangely bright emerald eyes narrowed in on his expression and took a moment to study him, as if ascertaining whether or not his apology was honest. She seemed to find what she was looking for because, in the next moment, any trace of hostility had vanished from her face, and she was the dutiful medic-nin once more.

"It's quite all right, Uchiha-san. You would be a poor clan heir if you were not concerned with the secrets of you family's doujutsu." Scooching closer to his seated form, she performed a series of hand seals and met his gaze once more. "May I?"

He nodded, and she gently placed her fingertips at his temples. Her chakra was warm and comforting. Unlike many other medic-nins he had encountered, he felt no aversion to her examination. Gradually, her eyes slipped shut and her brows furrowed as her warm chakra probed deeper.

Itachi was taken aback when her eyes flew open suddenly and her emerald gaze met his once more.

"Uchiha-san, are you aware of the severity of your condition?"

Denial would serve neither of them well, so Itachi found himself nodding. "My eyesight began deteriorating at the age of 13. It is only in recent months that is has become a hindrance."

Sakura's eyes were widened with horror. "Thirt–" she couldn't even finish her question.

"When I was made ANBU Captain."

"That's over a decade of degeneration to your optic nerve!" The flood of warmth at his temples increased slightly as she pushed more chakra into his eyes. "You're lucky you're not already blind!"

He did not answer, but merely closed his eyes as her soothing chakra dulled the every-present burn that pained his eyes. He had grown used to it over time, but, as she said, it had been over a decade since he had felt relief.

They must have sat like that for over a half an hour. Eventually, Sakura pulled her fingers away from his skull and questioned, "Now, how does that feel?"

Slowly, he pried his eyes back open once more and had to work to keep the shock from bleeding through his expression.

In less than 30 minutes, Haruno Sakura had changed his world.

He saw the bands of sunlight filtering through her window backlighting the dust that floated through the air. He saw the individual threads that made up the pillows of her couch. He noticed how many shades of pink and coral made up the strands of her hair.

Despite his best attempts, some of his disbelief must have shown on his face, because Sakura's lips widened into a pleased grin.

"That's the exact same look both Kakashi and Sasuke gave me when I worked on their eyes."

"The improvement is…impressive."

His blasé statement only seemed to make her amusement grow. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Levering herself off of the couch, she stiffly made her way to her desk and reached into one of the top drawers. Only his well-trained eye caught the small quaking of her hands as she pulled out another one of the snack bars she had been eating earlier.

"Now," she informed him as she peeled open the wrapper, "your condition is much too severe to be healed with one session. However, seeing as overloading your optic nerve with chakra is what got you into this mess, it would be detrimental to do it all over again, even with healing chakra."

He nodded in understanding. "When should I return?"

"Two weeks. One more session should do the trick, but," she warned, "you will need to schedule an appointment with me every time you overuse your chakra, especially when you use the Mangekyou, and I would advise you to be gentle with your doujutsu."

Such a demand was not unreasonable, but it was not ideal either. "Thank you, Haruno-san."

It was only as he was walking out of her office that he heard her heaving sigh. "He's gonna ignore me just like those other two idiots."

This time, he didn't try to hide the smirk that came to his face.

A/N: Here's the new story. I've been mulling over this one for a while, but am only slowly getting around to writing it. As always, let me know if it sounds interesting enough to continue!


	2. Chapter 2

_**Protein Bar:**_ _Sometimes, it's the most insignificant details that are the most telling._

 **I do not own any rights to Naruto.**

The next time he visited Haruno Sakura, it was in the morning.

The birds of Konoha had just started to chirp as the sun peaked over the Hokage monument. Uchiha Itachi made his way to the hospital in the crisp early morning hours. He was to report to the gates at 0800 hours for a mission and could not afford to be late, even for something as important as this.

The nurse at the front desk greeted him politely once more as he made his way through the lobby and to Haruno Sakura's office.

The only way he could describe the hospital was turbulent as he made his way down the main hallway. Hordes of nurses and medics were either packing their bags and yawning as they walked back the way he came, towards the main exit of the hospital, or joining his own path of travel while being briefed by their colleagues.

If he remembered correctly, hospital protocol dictated that shifts in Konoha general were conducted every six hours, and kept on a schedule of 0000, 0600, 1200, and 1800 hours in order to maintain a consistent and organized system. It appeared he arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard. Unconsciously, he steps hurried in order to catch Haruno-san before she reached the end of her shift.

Once more, he knocked politely at her door, waiting for her permission before entering.

True to his assumption, it appeared that she was at the end of a long day of work. Her whole face appeared wan, with deep, purple bags displayed prominently under her eyes. She was flipping through case files on his desk when he entered. One hand was propped under her chin, valiantly propping it up, while the other hand diligently took notes on every page.

It occurred to him that, while six hours as the Chief Medic of Konoha General was stressful, this was not the level of exhaustion that was normal to a single shift. She must have come in last night at 1800 hours at least to be this drained. At least.

He was tempted to activate his Sharingan to get a glimpse of her chakra levels, but he had no doubt that such a thing would earn him an instant scolding.

After a moment or two, she finally seemed to notice him. "Ah, Uchiha-san. I'm sorry for making you come in this early."

He shook his head. "It was convenient timing for me as well. I am leaving for a mission this morning."

She appeared to eye him from head to toe, taking in his full ANBU attire. "I don't suppose you'll consider giving your Sharingan a break after I spend time healing it."

At this point, he realized that no answer was probably the best course of action.

She narrowed her eyes at his lack of response – so similar to her mentor – before finally heaving a great sigh.

"Typical. Alright, have a seat, this will be much faster than last time. I just need to add some last-minute touches and seal the healing that I've already performed so that it will last longer."

Nodding, he immediately took his place on the couch and watched as she stood from her desk. Any doubt that she had pulled a double shift was immediately swept away as she stretched out sore limbs and stiffly made her way to the couch he was currently sitting on.

 _She must have been waiting for me or this appointment in order to go home for the day_ , he realized with an ounce of regret. Not only that, but she was completely aware that he was about to reverse all of her good work on an S-class mission. Years of training in clan etiquette compelled him to say something to atone for this.

"I apologize, Haruno-san, that I will be unable to enjoy the full effects of your healing before my mission."

Rather than lose her cool, as he sensei might have, or heartily apologize on her own behalf, she simply tilted her head to the side to tiredly observe him. With a tiny, cracked smirk she noted, "Are you apologizing to me for using your own doujutstu?"

It was only then that he realized how ludicrous his statement really was.

"I only meant it seems a shame that you should spend your time and chakra healing my eyes when I must immediately reverse the damage by using them on a mission."

Unperturbed, Sakura plopped down on the couch across from him and continued to stretch her limbs. "Such is the life of a medic-nin, Uchiha-san, though you are politer than most in apologizing for such a fact, but don't worry. Your eyes are no different from the broken bones, bruises, and ruptured organs we spend our days healing only for shinobi to return to the battlefield and do it all over again." Settling from her stretching, she managed to give him an ironic smile. "I mean, that is the nature of our job. If you didn't wear out your Sharingan again and again, I wouldn't have something to do in my spare time, now would I?"

He couldn't help the way his lips curled at her response. "Indeed not."

"Now," she said, cracking her knuckles. "Let's finish this up so you can go ruin it again posthaste."

Once more, she completed a series of seals and held her hands up to his temples. After a few minutes of her warm healing chakra smoothing out the last of the aches in his optic nerve, she quietly requested that he turn his Sharingan on.

"Every Sharingan user seems to have a different base-level of chakra that they use to maintain each form of the doujutsu. I would like to see how much you utilize, if that's alright with you."

Without hesitation, he activated the lowest level of his bloodline limit. He had never been so keenly aware of how much energy he used to used in his Sharingan or the way his chakra traveled to his eyes down his ocular nerve. He felt the thread of energy brush lightly against the green healing chakra that Sakura was using to study the transition.

It was a strangely intimate sensation.

He could just barely feel the way his eyes bled red and his pupil divided and morphed into swirling tomoe. More curious that anything, he carefully watched Sakura's face as she took in the transformation, her observant gaze never once wavering from his piercing eyes.

He had seen his enemies shudder in terror, missing-nin beg for him to turn his gaze away, and children cry just as the slightest glance, but never had he met someone who wasn't the slightest bit unnerved by his Sharingan.

It was a novel experience.

"Incredible," she whispered, bringing him out of his musings. At his quirked eyebrow, a pink hue rose to her cheeks, as if the word had come out unintentionally. "I only meant that your chakra control is incredible. You use almost the smallest amount of effort possible to activate it."

He was startled to find that her small praise was actually quite…pleasing.

"I have had a lot of practice," he noted evenly.

A coughing laugh escaped her mouth. "Did the great Uchiha Itachi just tell a joke?"

Once more, he found his lips curling in a small smile. For some reason, he felt compelled to return the favor and to give credit where it was due. "I appreciate the compliment, especially from one of the village's foremost experts in chakra control."

Rather than become embarrassed by his praise or thank him, she simply waved him off. "I am nowhere near mastery of my technique. I'm just lucky to have been taught by someone as amazing as Tsunade-sama."

He was continually surprised by her mannerisms, it seemed. Growing up in a competitive clan environment, where every member seemed to be scraping and struggling to lift their status, coming across someone who would downplay their expertise was a novelty. In truth, he didn't know how to handle it.

"Would you mind activating the Mangekyou?"

Brought back into focus by her statement, he shifted to the next level of his Sharingan, again carefully observing her reaction. However, at this point, she had closed her eyes and appeared to be focusing all of her available energy on the task at hand.

"I see now," she mused, almost to herself, "where the damage is coming from."

All at once, her eyes burst open, and almost seemed to look beyond him as she shot up from her seated position and strode to her desk. Pulling the nearest available parchment, she scribbled down a series of notes.

Despite his best efforts, his curiosity seemed to get the best of him.

"I thought that the damage would come from the increased chakra that the Mangekyou requires?"

Amusingly enough, his question seemed to break her out of her train of thought and remind her that he was still there with her in her office. Blinking, she admitted, "That was what I had also assumed based on my healings with Sasuke and Kakashi. However, it seems with your proficiency of chakra usage, I can get a better idea of where the chakra is actually going within the optic nerve.

"You see," she explained, making her way from her desk to the nearby wall, which held a dry erase board, "the optic nerve is a complicated bundle of fibers that connect the eye to the brain via the central nervous system." On the whiteboard, she drew a rudimentary diagram of the eye connected to the brain via a canal he surmised must be the optic nerve.

"However," she continued, "the optic nerve is not just a single construct, but rather a series of fibers that work like wires to relay signals. All this time, we assumed that the Sharingan, being a specialized doujutsu was operating via a specialized set of fibers that were unique to Uchiha eyes. Sasuke and Kakashi flood the nerve with more chakra than you do, obscuring my ability to see down to the fiber level."

Turning back to him, he noticed that, despite her obvious exhaustion, this discovery had brought a spark back into her eyes and she seemed unable to contain her excitement.

"But with your chakra control," she explained, "I can see the chakra being channeled down to the individual fibers and the fact that there are no additional Uchiha-specific fibers!"

Her logic was sound, and her explanation was clear. Nodding in understanding, he surmised, "So, the chakra is flooding nerves that were not designed to handle sustained amounts of energy."

Her smile widened. "Exactly!"

The idea that her control ran deep enough that she could see such minute differences in chakra paths and anatomy was nothing short of astonishing. Even with his rudimentary understanding of medical chakra, Itachi was being to see that Sakura was a prodigy in her own right, even if she tended to be overshadowed by the legacies of her teammates.

Intrigued by her discovery and the way her mind worked, Itachi was about to open his mouth and continue questioning her when there was a quiet rapping at the door. Mumbling a quiet apology, she strode to the door and opened it far enough for him to spot the nurse from the front desk standing on the other side.

"I apologize, Sakura-sama. I know you're with a patient, but the poison report came in from toxicology and you asked–"

"That it be brought to me immediately," she replied patiently. "Thank you, Asami-san, this is what I've been waiting all night for."

The nurse excused herself and Sakura closed the door once more, turning around with an impressive stack of papers. Immediately he recognized the black tab marking the folder. It was ANBU business.

"You are ANBU?"

Still looking at the file, she answered, "Not really. I took the Medic's exam so that I could be added to missions if necessary, but there's only so many people who request a medic on those teams anyway."

Her answer puzzled him. "Regardless of your medical ninjutsu, your skills would be useful to any ANBU team."

That made her look up. It shouldn't have irritated him, the surprised look on her face, but for some reason it did. It confirmed his theory that she was not put on the same level as her teammates, and, therefore unused to the praise he was giving her.

Seeing that she really didn't know how to respond to his bald compliment, he nodded at the folder in her hands. "Why do you have an ANBU file outside of a mission?"

Blinking, she seemed to regain traction. "It's a toxicology report from a team that returned a few days ago with a poison we hadn't encountered before. The labs from this will help me break down its components and create an antidote."

"We being?"

"The Special Poisons Unit led by Shizune and me. It was one of the first things Tsunade-shishou implemented when she became Hokage. We've constructed a log of every poison encountered in the field, as well as a bank of antidotes to counter them.

"Speaking of which," she continued peering at the opposite wall to the big clock behind her desk, "I am due to meet Shizune-nee in the lab, and you are due at the front gates for a mission."

He felt his brow furrow. She wasn't going home for the day? Wasn't her double shift complete?

Striding back to her desk, she managed to set the folder down long enough to swing her white coat over her shoulders once more. Reaching down, she pried open her desk drawer and pulled out the same brand of protein bar she had been eating last time he was here.

"Now," she began to instruct him, returning to her "Medic-mode" as Sasuke called it, "like I said before, be conscious of how often you are utilizing the Sharingan on missions, especially at higher levels. Anytime you feel the chakra burn sensation return, make an appointment with me right away and we can keep up with it enough to keep it from affecting your eyesight."

He nodded, standing from the couch and pulling his mask from its place at his hip. "I will be sure to heed your advice. Thank you for all your hard work, Haruno-san."

Her smile shone even through her obvious exhaustion. "Thank you for bothering to listen to a medic's advice, Uchiha-san. It's a rare treat."

Picking up her folder once more, she gestured for him to step out of the office in order to close and lock it behind them.

Turning once more to wave awkwardly with a single hand, she called, "Good luck on your mission! Return home in one piece!"

Then she turned on her heel and strode further into the hospital.

Itachi did not know how long he stood there, staring down the hallway long after she had already gone. It seemed every time he stepped into her office, he learned something new about Haruno Sakura, something that piqued his interest.

She was intelligent, witty, and, above all else, committed to her work.

Over herself, it seemed, he thought with a frown, thinking of the bags under her eyes and the array of quick snacks she was using to keep herself fueled.

But he would have to ponder that further later. He had a mission to report to. Sliding his mask over his features, he strode the opposite direction she had gone in towards the doors of the hospital.

* * *

A/N: Here's the next chapter! Please remember to leave a review!


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own any rights to Naruto.**

As it turned out, it was a matter of weeks before he saw her again.

His team had been assigned to what should have been a relatively simple reconnaissance mission in Cloud country just after his second hospital appointment. Three weeks of Genma, Shisui, and himself dropping in and out of the capital, slowly drawing out information like poison from a wound.

The analogy, however, had proven only too apt.

A day before they were to return home, an ANBU team from Cloud had passed just a hair too close to their campsite and felt the brush of foreign chakra. If it had been anyone other than an ANBU-level team, they might have slid under the radar, but luck had not been on their side.

Retreat was not an option. Their presence could not be reported back to the enemy. The ensuing battle, however, had almost cost them everything. At some point in their two hour long battle, Genma had been grazed by a poisoned senbon. Itachi was forced to utilize his freshly-healed doujutsu to end it quickly and get his comrade home.

His Mangekyou and Shisui's Shunshin were probably the only reason Genma even made it to the front gates.

Soaked to the bone from their run through the elements, Itachi blinked past the rain water and blood obscuring his view and marched through the doors of a hospital he was becoming all too familiar with.

He didn't even manage to get a word out before a wide-eyed nurse picked up a phone and shouted a, "Code Blue!" order.

The next few minutes proved to be a bustle of gurneys, bandages, nurses, and IV bags.

"Get a line of antibiotics in him!"

"No major breaks, but evidence of major contusions."

"Call Haruno-sensei. He's not going to survive with anything less."

Another nurse attempted to usher Itachi into one of the exam rooms, but he simply waved her off. With no major injuries, he was content to remain in the waiting room until the fate of his teammate was determined. Shisui, however, was hovering at the edges of chakra exhaustion from his overuse of both the Sharingan and his Shunshin technique and was admitted.

Three long hours – longer than their actual battle – Itachi sat waiting for any sort of news, never falling asleep, but reaching a sort of resting meditative state.

Finally, an exhausted nurse, still covered in blood from the OR, emerged in the waiting room. "Uchiha-taichou?"

Itachi was already on his feet. "Shiranui's status?"

The nurse gave him a tired smile. "Alive and thriving." Itachi had no idea how tense he was until those three little words released every ounce of stress he had been holding onto. "He will be admitted and kept in ICU overnight for close observation, but he is expected to make a full recovery."

Itachi nodded. "Thank you, and the rest of your team, for all of your hard work."

The nurse waved him off. "It's our job, Uchiha-taichou. Besides, Haruno-sensei did the heavy lifting."

As the nurse left to find a clean pair of scrubs, Itachi was overcome with the urge to thank the medic personally. He hadn't seen her exit, so he deduced she had returned to her office or her rounds. Navigating deeper into the hospital, Itachi first checked Shisui's room and found his cousin fast asleep recuperating. Then, Itachi followed the familiar route to Haruno's office.

Upon arrival, he noted the door was cracked open just slightly. He knocked twice politely, before pushing open the door the rest of the way, only to freeze at the sight that greeted him.

She had indeed returned to her office, but it seemed just barely. Similar to the nurse who had checked in with him, she was also still wearing her dirty scrubs. It appeared that she had intended to sit for a moment on her couch and review Genma's paperwork, which must have fallen from her lap onto the floor the moment she lost consciousness. Her head had, luckily, landed on the arm rest of the couch, but her neck would certainly be in pain tomorrow if she remained in that position. Her left hand, he noticed with a frown, was holding one of those damned protein bars, unwrapped with a single bite taken out of it.

Would this woman ever learn to take care of herself the way she cared for her patients?

He knew with utter certainty that he could not leave her like this. Especially after she had spent all of her energy saving his teammate.

Closing the door behind him, he strode across the room and knelt beside the couch, gathering the fallen papers from the floor and extricating the protein bar from her grip. Reaching over her too still form, he plucked a pillow from the other side of the couch. As carefully as he could, he reached around her shoulders to rotate her frame and slide the pillow under her head. He wouldn't be able to do anything about the dirty scrubs, but after a quick examination, he found a blanket in a basket beside the couch and laid it over her.

The entire time he was seeing to her comfort, she did not so much as shift in her unconscious state. Knowing what it took to dull a shinobi's senses, even in sleep, only made Itachi more agitated.

How often was she leaving herself completely defenseless? In the event of an attack, she would be completely unprepared to defend herself. Her door had even been left open.

A quick assessment of her face showed deep bags under her eyes and cheeks that appeared hollower than the last time he had seen her. This was not a new phenomenon.

Sitting with his back against the couch, the ANBU captain kept his steely gaze trained on the unconscious medic and wondered what his path forward would be. He admired Sakura, thought she was intelligent and gifted in a way few appreciated. She was also recklessly selfless, giving everything to her job when she had nothing to prove to anyone.

He had walked into her office against his will to get his eyes fixed, only to have his interest piqued by his brother's teammate, the unlikeliest of people.

Mind made up, Itachi levered himself to his feet with only some stiffness and activated the lowest level of his Sharingan. First, he had some adjustments to make to her office security. He had to ensure she remained safe while he had some errands to run.

The first thing that hit her was the _aching_. Chakra overuse always came a price, and, in this instance, that price felt similar to the last time she had been Tsunade's punching bag.

The second thing she did was try and remember how she had gotten here in the first place. Thinking back, she remembered working on an antidote equation with Shizune in the lab when a chunin called for her in the OR.

Genma, she suddenly remembered, she had been working on Genma. Shizune's relationship with the pervy nin prevented her from taking the case, and Sakura hadn't hesitated for a moment to scrub in.

The poison he had been infected with was one that was familiar to her – _what had they been doing in Cloud country?_ – but it had spread enough to make her task a difficult one. The extraction had taken two hours of careful, chakra-consuming work, then rebuilding what the neurotoxin had tried to destroy had taken another additional hour.

By the time the procedure was done, Sakura had been dead on her feet. She had directed the head nurse to inform his teammates and Shizune of the patient status before trudging back to her office, one foot at a time. She didn't even remember being handed his charts. The path from office door to desk drawer for a snack to couch was a familiar one. She wanted to mark some details of the neurotoxin's progressed path on his charts for future record, but the world went sideways before she could make it happen.

Tsunade was going to rip her a new one. Again.

Realizing she had to face the music sooner rather than later, Sakura sighed and slowly began to blink her eyes open. Her first view was of the pretty periwinkle pillows Ino had gotten her for her office, which was surprising. She didn't think she was going to be lucky enough to land on one of those this time.

Pushing herself up, Sakura hissed at the immediate twinge from her cramped muscles and did her best to breathe deeply past the pain. Holding her head in her hands, she gave herself a moment to consider pulling the pillow over her face and ending her own misery.

"There are painkillers on the table, Haruno-san."

With a very un-shinobi-like yelp, Sakura jumped and found her gaze pulled to the other side of her office, where, miracle upon miracles, Uchiha Itachi appeared to have taken over her desk.

He didn't look up from his work, despite her sudden attention. Merely continued writing what appeared to be a mission report with smooth, unhurried strokes of his pen.

Sakura was half-convinced she was dreaming, or at least hallucinating.

Why on earth was _Uchiha Itachi_ of all people doing in her office, minding his own business, while she was dead to the world?

The question was thought-provoking and mildly concerning in so many different ways her brain didn't know where to start.

When it became apparent to him that not all of her synapses were firing correctly yet, he finished his sentence and looked up from his work. He gestured smoothly with his chin towards her coffee table and tried explaining again, "There are painkillers and water on the table. There's also real coffee from outside the hospital. I wasn't sure how you took it, so it's black. I hope you don't mind."

Yup. She was definitely hallucinating. There was no way this was real.

But the smell of coffee was just starting to hit her, and the vein that was beginning to pulsate in her head demanded she take the painkillers that were indeed sitting on the table in front of her. Carefully reaching out, she snagged two pills and downed them with the full glass of water before turning her attention to the coffee he had brought.

A single sip confirmed that, wherever it came from, it wasn't the sludge that they served in the breakroom. The dark roast burned all the way down to her stomach and made her feel a little more human again. Sakura couldn't help the way she sighed happily.

A quiet humming sound reached her ears, and her eyes snapped open to meet the Uchiha's gaze once again. She wouldn't say that he was smiling, but the twinkle in his eye was definitely something new.

Now that she was a little more alert and awake, a million questions came to the forefront of her brain, but, before any of them could escape her mouth, she forced herself to say, "Thank you, Uchiha-san, for the coffee."

He nodded politely in return. "I have heard caffeine is good for the migraines that follow chakra exhaustion."

As far as accusations went, it was certainly subtler than what she was used to. However, the innocence underlying the words made her eyes narrow. Setting down the mug of coffee on the table, Sakura answered in the same blasé tone as the Uchiha. "Yes, well, unfortunately emergency procedures don't allow for a lot of preparation. What's a little chakra exhaustion in the face of a life or death situation?"

Something in that statement made his features sharpen just the slightest bit. It shouldn't have made her anxious, but Sakura fought to keep from swallowing in an outward show of nervousness. Carefully setting down his pen, Uchiha Itachi slowly leaned back in his chair and let the full weight of his attention settle on her.

Caught in the web of his focus, he went in for the kill. "How many emergency surgeries precisely does it take to drain the entirety of your chakra? I would imagine, as the Hokage's apprentice, that a single poison extraction should not deplete your stores entirely."

Sakura could feel her heart beating harder in her chest, but she refused to let him see that. She kept her gaze firmly pinned on his own, determined not to be intimidated by his pretty Uchiha eyes. "Normally, it would not," she conceded, "but, I was on shift at the time and had been working on several other cases."

"How long?"

She blinked at his sudden question. "Pardon?"

"How long were you on your shift?"

That was the kicker. Sakura went through her schedule in reverse from the time of Genma's call. She had been working in the lab on a new poison from Sound with Shizune, who had made a breakthrough as Sakura was doing her rounds, of which she pulled a double shift.

Sakura winced internally. Oh yeah. Tsunade was going to kill her.

If Uchiha Itachi didn't get to her first, apparently.

But why did he care, she wondered, at a complete and total loss. They had only met a handful of times, were only connected through her work and through his relationship with Sasuke. Why was he acting like he had the right to question her schedule and her work?

A spark of irritation pushed past her nervousness, and Sakura found herself answering more sharply than she had originally intended. "My hospital hours are none of your concern, Uchiha-san. While I appreciate your hospitality, I most certainly do not need an interrogation over my work ethic."

"I am not questioning your work ethic," he countered easily enough, "quite the opposite." Gracefully, he pushed the chair back from her desk and reached into a bag he must have brought with him. Pulling out two small boxes, he rose to his feet and made his way over to the couch where she was still sitting. Setting the boxes one by one on the table, he continued, "You have proven that you are committed completely to your work, even at the cost of your own personal health."

Sakura could only watch in stunned silence as he carefully opened one of the boxes to unveil a beautiful bento display – _was that handmade?_ – that immediately made her mouth water, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since before working in the lab with Shizune.

But, quickly, she forced herself to remember that he was still chastising her. "I'm the medic here, Uchiha-san," she told him sullenly. "I do not need to be lectured on my health."

"No," he agreed, surprisingly, as he handed her a pair of chopsticks, "but you do need to be taken care of, apparently."

She almost dropped her chopsticks in her lap. "I do _not_ –"

"Eat first," he cut across her immediately, digging into his own bento. "It will give you more strength to argue later."

And, despite herself, Sakura actually found a quiet huff of unexpected laughter escaping her mouth.

"Well," she mused, as she scooped a large serving of rice into her mouth, "I can't argue with that."

A/N: Sorry this took so long for me to post, you guys! The original plan was to have this be three chapters, but I think I like it to much.

Let me know if you guys agree!


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own any rights to Naruto.**

* * *

She was avoiding him.

Though she would normally deny avoiding one of her patients to her last breath, she, Haruno Sakura, was undoubtedly and unapologetically avoiding Uchiha Itachi.

After treating her to her first full meal in ages following Genma's successful surgery, she had thanked him just as her mother had taught her, and, with newfound energy, had firmly and plainly informed him that she had no need for a caretaker.

He had acquiesced to her request, while apparently taking it as a direct challenge to introduce subtleties to his gestures towards her.

At his next appointment he brought her a box of his favorite tea, the one he loved to sip at the end of a long day when he needed to wind down.

One night, she found herself caught in the throes of a rainstorm after a long shift, and he just happened to be walking by with an umbrella, more than happy to help her home.

When Sasuke cancelled their training plans unexpectedly, he offered to fill in as her sparring partner. Sasuke arrived at their next training session with a black eye he refused to talk about.

When her protein bars mysteriously went missing from the top right drawer of her desk, he stopped by the hospital and offered to take her out for lunch.

That might have been less than subtle.

Sakura had spent the better part of her formative years as the poster child for what too much coddling could do to a ninja, and she had no desire to ever let someone put her in that position again. So, when she found herself actually looking forward to his visits, she knew she had to put a stop to them.

She handed his case off to Shizune's capable hands; she abandoned her favorite training spot; she even managed to find a new route to walk home every night.

And she definitely bought a new box of protein bars for her desk drawer.

While she was mature enough to admit that a large part of her reaction was out of the spite that kept her going most days, a tiny, tiny voice in the back of her mind dared to wonder if maybe fear was fueling what was very much an overreaction to a few, kind gestures that probably meant nothing to the village's best shinobi. It also wondered if his eyesight had improved at all, if he was still pushing himself too hard to bring his teammates home.

It wondered if he would soon forget about her.

But that didn't matter, she would tell herself. She had a job to do, and she didn't need some Uchiha telling her how she needed to take care of herself. She didn't need him. He wasn't invested in her. This was for the best.

Right?

* * *

She was avoiding him.

It was certainly not the response he was expecting.

Of all the people in the village, the person he perhaps least expected to catch his interest was his little brother's teammate, and, yet, she had somehow managed it by simply doing her job.

In the bustle of the marketplace, Itachi automatically found his gaze moving, searching for the newfound object of his interest, as it had recently become wont to do. His mother had sent him out for odds and ends needed for her dinner. Him offering to go had nothing to do with the fact that Sakura often frequented this market. If he found her here, it would simply be serendipitous.

That was at least what he was telling himself. The alternative was almost too pathetic.

However, catching no glimpse of pink hair, he paid for the vegetables his mother needed and made his way home.

It had been weeks since he had last seen Sakura. After successfully stealing her protein bars – and disposing of them with a signature katon jutsu – he had offered to take her out to lunch. Though she had been understandably less-than-pleased to find that her go-to meals thoroughly singed, she couldn't help but agree the least he could do was compensate via lunch.

The meal they shared had only served to reinforce his interest.

While she remained prickly and hesitant at first, he managed to draw her into conversation concerning an advanced genjutsu project he was working on with the Intelligence Division. Her association with Ibiki's mouthy, blonde apprentice gave her some insight as to the issue, and she was easily able to offer expertise on the techniques he had already supplied, as well as additional details he had not considered.

From there the conversation flowed easily, and it quickly became apparent just how many ties they actually shared. Between her different mentors, to her work associations with many other Uchiha, and finally on covert projects they could neither confirm nor deny being a part of, they managed to fill three hours of time.

When the waitress finally approached their table with their cheque, informing them that lunch hours were coming to an end, Sakura seemed to grasp the degree of their connection. Instead of being as pleased as he was by it, she seemed to have quite the opposite approach. She had laid her share of the bill down on the table and, with a rather formal bow, thanked him for his time, turning tail and leaving the restaurant shortly after.

Since then, she had not visited her normal training grounds. Her route home from the hospital seemed to change every day. She took missions more often than not out of the confines of the village. She had even handed his case over to Shizune.

It was unacceptable, he thought, as he made his way into the compound. If they had had nothing to talk about, if it had become apparent they weren't compatible, he would have left well enough alone, but it was quite the opposite. He had never before met someone who could understand him, even manage to keep up with him, and he wasn't quite so willing to let that go.

Stepping into his house, he carefully removed his sandals and quietly called, "Tadaima."

"Okaerinasai," his mother cheerfully responded from the kitchen.

He entered the kitchen and was assaulted with an array of delicious smells. His mother stood behind the stove, manning a series of pots and pans. As soon as he entered, she turned to greet him with a smile and reached for him first with a kiss of gratitude.

"Thank you, Itachi-chan. I can't believe I forgot these yesterday. We've been planning this dinner for a month!"

"It's all right, Okaa-san," he replied solemnly. "You've had enough on your mind."

She always forgot the little things when one of them was on a mission, as Sasuke was. As if a little part of her was always with one of her children.

Mikoto smiled, sensing he understood. "Well, your brother's home now. So, hopefully, I'll be a little less scatterbrained from now on."

Imperceptibly, Itachi tensed just the slightest bit. If Sasuke was home, that also meant his teammate was home. Listening carefully, he caught the sound of the shower running and knew it was true.

"Have you decided whether or not to join us, Itachi? Your aunt and and uncle would gladly put out a plate for you."

All of a sudden, a new plan came to his mind, one that made his lips curl in anticipation.

"No, thank you, Okaa-san. Sasuke has been gone for a long time. I think I will join him for dinner tonight."

If Sasuke had just come back from a mission that could mean there was only one course of action his team would pursue that night.

* * *

They really needed to find Naruto a new restaurant.

Pulling her sweater closer around her, she distinctly wished she had thought to pack something warmer. Their mission to Sand had left her sweating for a week straight, and she had momentarily forgotten that the weather in Konoha was actually beginning to turn cooler.

Though she was loathe to admit it, the ramen would actually help warm her up. Looking up, she caught sight of the distinct lights of Naruto's favorite ramen shop and shuffled just a little more quickly.

By the time she caught sight of orange, Naruto seemed to sense her.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

She wanted to be mad – really, she had just seen him an hour ago – but she simply found herself shaking her head exasperatedly. With the ease of practice, she avoided his energetic embrace and hoisted herself into the stool next to him.

"Naruto there's no need to shout, Gaara can probably hear you all the way back in–"

At that moment, Sakura turned to share her disgruntlement with the dark blob next to her. The one she assumed was her other, equally annoying teammate.

Except the dark blob was decidedly not Sasuke.

Uchiha Itachi was peering innocently down at her, as if he had every right to be at Ichiraku with her teammates a mere hour after they got back from their mission.

Before she could begin to question his presence there, a divine deity decided to have mercy on her, and flew Ayame in with her usual order.

"Miso ramen and an order of gyoza, Sakura-chan."

Turning away from her impromptu stalker, she plastered a smile on her face and replied, "Arigatou, Ayame!"

Ignore. That was probably the best course of action. He was probably just tagging along with Sasuke. It had nothing to do with her. She just had to ignore it.

"So, Naruto, did you stop in to see Hinata-chan?"

Mid-slurp, Naruto turned towards her with a goofy smile on his face and cheerily replied, "Of course! I stopped by her apartment first!"

She couldn't help but smile, even as she casually wiped his sprayed ramen broth from her arm. "She must have been happy to see you again."

"Indeed," intoned a deep voice directly beside her. "It must have been hard being separated for so long."

Sakura stiffened, but refused to so much as glance in his direction as she angrily stirred her noodles. "Then again, two weeks is nothing for a woman as independent as Hinata-chan."

Sakura recognized the hum of agreement he gave in reply all too well. She recognized the frequency it left humming in her bones. She knew the small smile that would accompany it, but still she managed to not look at him.

"Surely her independence is not at stake, even if she misses Naruto-kun for two weeks?"

Her broth splattered. Sakura hurriedly reached over Naruto for napkins to mop up her mess. "The fact of the matter is, no matter how charming Naruto is," she drawled, while slapping the aforementioned teammate's hand away from her gyoza platter, "Hinata does not need him to function admirably on a day-to-day basis."

A pale hand, much larger than her own, entered her field of view, innocently offering up more napkins. "And is that what life is about? Functioning admirably from day-to-day?"

Steeling her spine, Sakura mustered up the fakest, happiest smile she reserved for council meetings with Tsunade and her most annoying patients and turned to finally face him.

"It could certainly be the goal someone has set for themself, and, as Hinata's good friends, we must, of course, honor that it that is the case."

"Of course."

From her turned position, Sakura finally caught sight of Sasuke, who was observing her interaction with his brother with narrowed eyes that saw entirely too much. While she had been less than forthcoming about their interactions with her teammates, Sasuke had seemingly come directly in the line of fire on at least one occasion. He may have been one of her lovingly dense male teammates, but a black eye would knock sense, and suspicion, into anyone.

"Although, Naruto– "

Honestly, what had she done in a past life to deserve this.

"Do you have the sense that you impede Hinata's life when you are in the village?"

"Impede?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of noodles.

"It means to interrupt, deter–"

"He knows what impede means–"

"Not at all! I would never get the in way of Hinata! She's so smart and pretty and talented. I couldn't get in her way if I tried!"

It was impossible to look away from Itachi's gaze once she became caught in it. She had spent hours talking with him, getting to know the way he thought, how he reacted when she surprised him, and the way his lip curled just so when he had proven his point. It was the same way it was curled now.

Their stools were so close that she could feel the warmth of his body through her too-thin sweater. Similarly, he had no need to do more than whisper his response.

"Precisely."

For a moment, Sakura felt her heart flutter, the same way it had in that tiny tempura shop a stone's throw from the hospital.

She let it last all but a moment before she reminded herself of her own resolve.

"Yes, well, sometimes," she reasoned loud enough for the bar to hear. "Naruto doesn't know any better."

She punctuated her statement by slamming a kunai directly between the fingers still reaching for her gyoza.

Her polite request cut through Naruto's surprised shrieking. "Ayame-chan, would you mind actually wrapping my order? I'm more tired than I thought."

Sakura adamantly refused to look at Itachi as she climbed off of her stools and gave her teammates a half-hearted goodbye.

"You'll meet us tomorrow, though, right Sakura-chan? For team training?"

Gathering her boxes of food, she replied, "I can't, Naruto. I have to rest up for a mission later this week. Remember? The one to the western village? They're having an outbreak Tsunade-sama wants me to help treat."

She recognized Sasuke's small snort. "It's just a medic mission. You can train with us tomorrow."

"Yeah, Sakura! You don't need to rest for a mission like that! Don't think you can get out of training that easily."

A small part of her sighed internally. She really should rest in the two days she had off. She wasn't sure what she was going to be up against, but she also couldn't let her boys down.

Ruffling Naruto's hair, she offered him a small smile and quietly promised, "Okay, I'll meet you at the bridge. Usual time?"

He beamed at her. "Yup! See you then, Sakura!"

Then, with a general wave to the group, she turned on her heal, and marched down the street towards her apartment, letting herself drop the fake smile that had somehow become plastered to her face.

Stupid Uchiha with his stupid logical arguments and his stupid meddling when all she was trying to do was wisely ignore him. I mean, how hard was it to let some acquaintance stroll back out of his life? Sure she had helped fix his eyes and he had helped her recover from surgeries, and then she had helped with his itsy bitsy interrogation problem and he had walked her home, but they were better off without one another right? She didn't need anything distracting her when she was so close to getting Sasuke and Naruto to acknowledge her, even though he did make her feel like she was the most interesting person in the room, while still challenging her–

She came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the street only to cover her face with her hands and briefly scream into them.

She couldn't let him get to her. She had to stick to her guns. She was being the smart one. She was making the responsible choice. Taking a few deep breaths, Sakura managed to calm herself down enough, after a few tremulous seconds, to let the hands fall away from her cheeks.

However, where the street had been blissfully empty but a moment before, a tall, dark figure was suddenly impeding her way home.

She searched for that spark of outrage that had burned so brightly before, the one that would allow her to keep her resolve now that he was back in front of her, but it was hard to find. Too hard.

All she managed was, "You just don't know when to take a hint, do you?"

To his benefit, his expression remained as serious as ever. "I would if you meant it."

The spark was suddenly becoming easier to find, but, before she could respond, he took a step closer to her and asked, "Are they always like that?"

"Like what," she asked, genuinely perplexed. "Hungry? Yes."

"Dismissive," he corrected, taking another step. He still wasn't smiling and Sakura didn't like the speculative gleam that was lighting his gaze.

"Dismissive? Of what?"

"Your missions. Your job."

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, telling herself it was because she was cold. She was not feeling even the slightest bit defensive.

"They were not being dismissive. It really is a small village; they saw it on the way home. It's not uncommon for smaller communities to need help from medic-nins to mitigate outbreaks. It won't take more than a day for me to fix."

One more step, and suddenly he was right in front of her. She refused to back away, refused to look down as they stood toe to toe. She steeled herself for his next point of argument, but none came. Instead, he took the time to examine her expression from top to bottom, searching her gaze for something, but she wasn't sure what.

After several heartbeats of silence, he carefully removed his thick, outer jacket and, without breaking her gaze, swung it to rest lightly on her shoulders. It was warm, comfortingly so; she hadn't even realized she'd been shivering in the cold until it was washed away.

Looking right into her eyes, he quietly intoned, "There is nothing small about curing a village from a pandemic, Haruno Sakura."

Then, using the grip he still had on his jacket, he pulled her close enough to press his lips to the center of her forehead, lingering just long enough to chase the last of the chill from her bones. She hadn't realized her eyes had fallen shut until he took a step back from her, releasing his grip one finger at a time. Glancing up, she met his eyes once more, only to find that his onyx gaze had softened just the slightest bit.

She waited for him to boast. To claim she did, indeed, need him.

But, all he left her with was a simple request.

"Be safe."

And then he was gone, and her street was clear once more.

* * *

A/N: Remember when I said this story was originally three chapters? Turns out it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be to keep it going cohesively. I hope this at least makes up for it! Your reviews and words of encouragement were so inspiring, I knew I had to keep trying.

Let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Protein Bar** : Sometimes, it's the most insignificant details that are the most telling. _

**I do not own any rights to Naruto.**

* * *

Itachi clamped down on the urge to yawn for the third time in the past five minutes as their briefings entered their third hour.

Close to a year ago, Itachi suggested to the Hokage that newer ANBU squads may benefit from increased attention during the transition phase to Black Ops. Her solution had been to implement monthly progress reports for all new members. While greater supervision had led to better progress and decreased injury and fatality rates, Itachi regretted the loss of an entire day of work to sit in the Hokage's office and listen to new recruits nervously rambling.

That, and the risk of the Hokage losing her temper increasing with every passing hour, made for a trying day.

Peering down at the empty mug he had placed on Tsunade's desk, Itachi debated the benefits of another cup of green tea when the hair at the back of his neck stood on end.

Within the blink of an eye, he had spun on his heel, placing himself between the Hokage and her window, and unsheathed the standard-issue tanto he kept strapped across his back.

To his surprise, it wasn't an enemy that greeted him, but rather a familiar, if a bit bedraggled, pink-haired kunoichi.

"Obviously, Takeda-kun," the Hokage drawled, "Your finer senses need some honing."

The poor new captain, who had remained in his seat the entire time, looked nothing short of bewildered. "Yes, Hokage-sama.''

As the Hokage dismissed him from her office, Itachi re-sheathed his blade and strode to the window Sakura was leaning against, struggling to unhook the latch. A practiced flick of his wrist freed the lock and he was able to reach through the open window and offer her a hand.

He watched her catch sight of his hand, blink in surprise, then finally look up and meet his gaze. It wasn't her look of appreciation so much as the way she nearly fell through the window into his embrace that incited a sense of alarm. Keeping her firmly on her feet with the strength of his embrace, he guided her over to the chair he had previously been occupying and sat her in it.

Tsunade, quickly noting her apprentice's tired eyes and pale countenance, had barked an order for someone to bring her tea. In the meantime, though, she pried open the top right drawer of her desk and pulled out two cups and a bottle of sake.

Quickly filling one cup, she slid it across the surface to her apprentice, who surprised Itachi by immediately tossing it back with a sigh of appreciation.

He should have guessed Sakura learned more than healing and taijutsu from her master.

As Tsunade provided a refill, she noted, "If I remember correctly, I sent you to clear a pandemic, not enter a war zone."

When Sakura didn't respond right away, he searched her gaze and found only a distant, haunted look within them. Something within him rebelled at seeing such an expression on her face. Ignoring the way Tsunade narrowed his eyes on him, he reached for the hand closest to him and gently squeezed until her surprised gaze met his.

"What happened?"

She seemed to return to herself with his question. Her distant look was quickly replaced with one of utter disgust and fury.

"Orochimaru happened."

Both he and Tsunade stiffened in shock.

"Orochimaru," the Hokage spat, "what the hell was that _snake_ doing there?"

"Sakura," he asked, "are you sure it was him?"

She nodded solemnly. "I wasn't sure at first. When I got to the village, I followed the standard procedure set in place for treating a Level 2 pandemic. However, when I began to treat the more serious cases - the patients who already had progressed paralysis - it quickly became clear that the disease was not natural."

"Not natural?"

"I couldn't identify any standard foreign bacteria or viruses. Toxicology came back clear, but blood samples showed signs of microbes that behaved unlike anything we've seen before and that I could not identify. The patients' bodies showed signs of antibody development, but it appeared ineffective against the microbes. I quickly realized it was because the microbes were actually actively mutating."

"At a pace that outmatched antibody development?" Tsunade pressed. "How is that possible?"

Again, Sakura nodded. "I wondered that too. When I investigated the cadavers, I couldn't determine any anomalies. However, when I examined live patients I found that the microbes active in the bloodstream were actually bonded to small portions of foreign chakra."

Itachi had kept hold of her hand and, therefore, became immediately aware when she began trembling. From the look on her face and the steeliness of her tone, he could discern it from a combination of exhaustion and rage.

"How is this connected to Orochimaru," he pressed.

"As soon as I made the chakra connection, I knew that a shinobi had to be behind it. I began to investigate the villagers and narrowed it down to someone on the medical staff. Apparently, I got too close to the truth and had an altercation with the person responsible...a nin named Kabuto."

His eyes cut to Tsunade, who met his gaze in return. "We are familiar with him.'

She continued, "Kabuto had designed and introduced the microbe to imitate the jutsu used by the Third Hokage on Orochimaru." Itachi could almost feel the way she ground her teeth together in fury. "They were using the civilians to investigate how to reverse the damage done to his arms."

Tsunade's delicate eyebrows furrowed. "But that doesn't make any sense. The village requested medical aid from Konoha. They _named_ you specifically. Why would Kabuto and Orochimaru practically give us an invitation to sniff out their illegal experiments?"

Sakura shook her head obliquely as she reached for the new mug of green tea brought in by Shizune. However, as she sipped it, Itachi took note of her averted gaze and the way her fingers tensed on the handle.

There was something she wasn't telling them.

As he opened his mouth to push her further, he also noted the way her shoulders slumped, her eyes drooped, and the fact that she had to focus to keep her tea steady.

Something told him she wouldn't respond well to being interrogated, especially if it was something she was determined to keep away from her mentor. So, he restrained himself and determined it was something he was simply going to have to coax out of her later.

"How did you escape?"

Her lips twisted into a frown as she told them, "Kabuto confronted me in the lab as I was working with the new blood samples. We crossed blades, but my chakra was depleted, and I couldn't confidently call the fight, so I ran."

Almost hesitantly, she lifted her eyes to his, and he realized that she was expecting a rebuke. He could only imagine how her teammates normally chose to handle a fight or flight situation. Holding her gaze, he slowly slid his fingers between hers and held on even more tightly.

"If you could not be certain of the outcome, you made the right decision. Having you here to relay this information is infinitely better than having you injured or captured."

Or worse, he thought with a twist in his gut.

Tsunade fell back in her chair with a sigh. "The Uchiha is right. Still, it would have been nice to nab some of those samples and get a step ahead of those bastards."

For the first time since entering the office, Sakura's lips slid into a deeply satisfied grin. Placing her tea back on the desk, she reached into her hip pouch and pulled out two different glass vials.

"Who says I didn't get the samples?"

As Tsunade reached over to clap her on the back, Sakura dropped the vials into the hand he held open to her. He met her smile with one of his own and his admiration for this intelligent, fierce woman swelled even more.

* * *

After handing over the samples she had fought tooth and nail to bring home, it became quickly apparent to everyone in the room that she had finally reached her limit. Tsunade waved her away with an order to return after a nap and a full meal to give her report.

As she went to stand, she was surprised to see Itachi rise with her.

"I will see you home."

Suddenly remembering that she was supposed to be avoiding him for the sake of her own sanity - especially after the stunt he had pulled last week - Sakura pulled at his hand only to find him immovable. "That's quite all right, Uchiha-san."

"I insist."

She frowned. "If I can escape Kabuto, I can make it to my apartment."

That damned smile only widened on his face. "Think of it as a courtesy rather than a necessity, Sakura."

"You are a testament to your upbringing, _Uchiha-san_ , but I wouldn't want you to miss the rest of your meeting."

That was how she found herself in a stare down with Uchiha Itachi, in front of the Hokage while - for some unknown reason - _still holding his hand_. Sakura could practically feel the weight of her mentor's gaze flicking back and forth between them.

She refused to blush in front of Tsunade. Refused. It would only make things worse.

"As reticent as I am to admit it," the Hokage drawled, "the Uchiha is right. At the moment, it looks like a strong breeze could blow you over, Sakura. Let the Uchiha prove men can be chivalrous every once in a while."

Barely refraining from groaning out loud, she merely responded, "Hai, Shishou," through clenched teeth.

"Will we reschedule the remaining meetings, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade frowned, "I think I can handle a couple more nervous new ANBU captains on my own, Uchiha. I'll have a copy of my notes available for you tomorrow."

"My thanks."

"Just get her home safe."

With a few swift bows, they turned and exited the Hokage office. Sakura acutely felt the way that every person they passed on their way out of the tower nodded politely, only to hone in with ninja-acute senses on the handhold between the two least likely people in Konoha.

A sense of mortification began to overwhelm her. There were no secrets in the tower. By the end of the day, everyone would be speculating about the nature of their - _nonexistent_ \- relationship. By tomorrow, it would be the talk of the village.

By tomorrow afternoon, Ino would be kicking down her front door for details.

That was why she, as surreptitiously as possible, attempted to unravel her fingers from his the entire way down. Yet, somehow, with no visible effort on his part, he managed to keep her hand hostage.

It must be something they taught in ANBU.

When they entered the open air and were free of the prying eyes and ears of the tower, she finally turned to him to say, "I am quite capable of making it a few blocks without a guide dog, Uchiha-san."

He swept a thumb across her knuckles in response. "I don't doubt it. It is more for my peace of mind than out of genuine concern, Sakura."

She sputtered. "Your peace of mind? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He continued to guide them along as he appeared to mull her question over with an intensity she could attribute to very few people. She wondered if he was taking the time to formulate some excuse, but she quickly banished the thought. This was Uchiha Itachi, he didn't pick his socks without forethought and a plan of attack, much less walk home holding hands with some random kunoichi.

That realization caused her to freeze mid-step just outside her building at the same time he seemed to come to some resolution.

As he turned to face her completely, he released her hand, and Sakura found herself acting on the acute panic that was suddenly beginning to overwhelm her. Not wasting an opportunity, she coiled the remainder of her pitiful chakra and leapt from the street to the balcony outside her apartment before he could get a word in.

But Itachi, it seemed, was determined.

Quicker than her shadow, he arrived at her heels right outside the door to her apartment, and, before she could even slide the key into the lock, he had taken hold of her arm, spun her around, and firmly pinned her to the door.

For once, the cool, unflappable composure he was famous for was wiped from his expression, replaced instead by a frustration she had never seen on him before.

"Why do you insist on running away from me at every turn," he questioned her fiercely.

"Why do _you_ insist on playing games with me," she fired back defensively.

She watched as he visibly absorbed her words and narrowed his eyes in response. All at once, some of the tension seemed to dissipate from his form. The hands holding her arms eased from a firm grip to a gentle hold. He leaned closer to her and lowered his voice.

"This is not a game, Sakura."

She had no idea what to do with that knowledge. This was completely and totally out of her depth. She found herself shaking her head in confusion. "Then what the hell is it? Did someone put you up to this? Is there something you want from me?"

She half thought his frustration would return in the face of her biting questions, but, if anything, his tone only softened further. "Why would you think that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" She couldn't help but snap. Fear and uncertainty had always manifested themselves as anger in her personality. "Why would I think it was anything else? You're the village's top shinobi. I am your little brother's teammate and the medic who happened to get assigned to your case. I've done _nothing_ that could have gained your interest."

Any train of thought she might have had abruptly derailed and burst into flames when, in response, his hands trailed from her arms up to her shoulders and lightly brushed the sensitive skin of her neck on the way to her cheeks. Holding her face in his hands, he leaned even closer to her until she could feel his breath on her skin and every word he whispered brushed against her lips.

"You're wrong."

His lips were soft and warm as he gently, but determinedly, laid siege to her defenses. Sakura had no idea how to respond to him; she laid her hands on his chest, prepared to push him away, but then he tilted his head, deepening his kiss, and she was lost.

Gripping his shirt tightly in her hands, she pulled him closer until barely a breath of space existed between the two of them. He was quite a bit taller than her, and she felt surrounded by his strength, his smell, and his overwhelming presence.

Slowly, his kisses gentled until they became soft and sweet and short presses against her mouth. Her eyes opened to meet his and she was nearly undone by the satisfied warmth in his expression. As the pleasurable haze he had pulled her into calmed, her anxieties began to rise to the surface once more, but, almost as if he could see them, he brushed his thumbs against the line of her cheekbones soothingly.

Laying his forehead against her own, he spoke in low tones, "It is not my intention to play a game with you or to use our connection for any ulterior motive. You have proven to be an incredible, intelligent, beautiful woman, and, all I ask, is for the chance to get to know you beyond the relationship of a medic and her patient."

With another brush of his thumbs he stood to his full height and gave her some space. He took in her wide eyes and dropped jaw with an amused grin. "I understand that this is likely a lot of information to take in at one time, and I am not asking for an answer now. I simply want you to know that my intentions are honest and would like you to take the time to consider them.

"For now," he continued, letting her go completely and backing away a single step, "you need rest. And food. Is there anything else you would like answered before I go."

Sakura could do nothing else but shake her head dumbly.

His smile widened. "Then I shall see you soon."

With that, he vanished from her balcony, leaving her with a pounding heart and lips that still tingled.

* * *

Itachi finally lays all his cards on the table!

And there's chapter five! Quarantine is actually good for something! I hope everyone is safe and healthy, and that this gives you a little something to read if you are trapped inside. :)


	6. Chapter 6

_**Protein Bar** : Sometimes, it's the most insignificant details that are the most telling._

 **I do not own any rights to Naruto.**

* * *

"Gather both of your teams. Be at the gates within the hour, with _none_ of your late excuses or bulllshit, Hatake. Dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Itachi and Kakashi bowed deeply to Tsunade, then turned on their heels and left the office.

" _Yare, yare_ , Itachi-san," Kakashi drawled, cupping his hands behind his hand and strolling beside him. "How long do you need to find your team?"

"They will be at headquarters," he answered, not breaking his stride. "I will go and inform them immediately. They will be ready to go within the hour."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "I know Sasuke and Naruto will be at training ground 12 at this time of day, and if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say Sakura was probably in the hospital or her lab. It may take me a while to find them both."

Itachi tried to seem as disinterested as possible, but his attention was immediately piqued at the mention of Sakura. He had not seen her since his proclamation a few days ago on her balcony. He was doing his best to give her space and contemplate the hefty offer he had laid at her feet. However, despite his best intentions, he found himself wanting to see her, craving her attention.

An idea occurred to him. "The hospital is on the way to ANBU headquarters. I will find Sakura and notify her of our mission. That will leave you plenty of time to find Naruto and Sasuke."

A deep sigh reached him. "That really kills about half of my pre-made excuses, but I suppose that makes sense." They pushed through the final door and entered the bustling streets around the tour. "You find your team and Sakura. I will round up the boys, and meet you at the gates in an hour."

Itachi nodded, then felt the distinct hint of breeze and the brush of leaves that followed Kakashi's departure. He made his way to the nearby hospital, and, upon arriving at the front desk, he asked after Sakura's whereabouts.

"Haruno-sama," she questioned. Spinning on her desk chair, she whispered in the ear of the secretary next to her. After a quiet conversation, she rolled back and replied, "Haruno-sama is in her lab. Would you like someone to direct you there?"

He nodded. "I would appreciate that, thank you."

A nurse was grabbed mid-stride and instructed to lead him to Sakura. Itachi followed him down to a number of levels to what seemed like the basement of the building. A number of labyrinthine white hallways he couldn't begin to comprehend followed until they reached a nondescript metal door adorned only with a small, white plaque that read: _Warning: Hazardous Material._

Itachi found his lips twitching up into a smirk. Hazardous material, indeed.

He thanked the nurse who led him to her door, then gave a polite knock before turning the thick handle and stepping inside.

The lab was clean and orderly, everything he expected from her work space. Series of pipettes, microscopes, and bottles lined the metal shelves. The counters were immaculate. Bins and shelves were tucked neatly below those counters, labeled and color-coded.

And in the corner, tucked away hunched over a microscope, blissfully unaware of anyone in her lab, was Sakura. Dressed in her lab coat, sleeves pushed to her elbow, she squinted over a sample, and adjusted knobs until the scrunching of her face eased to grim curiosity.

He watched her for a moment, enjoying the sight of the kunoichi in her element. This was the Sakura who could not be matched by anyone else. The best in her field the way he was in his. She could understand his position, understand the place he had above his peers.

She matched him, and he was not so willing to let that go. He only hoped that she was beginning to feel the same way.

When she continued to observe her sample, oblivious to his arrival, he cleared his throat, the sound echoing in the lab. She jumped back from her work station, her head snapping towards the sound until she found him standing in her lab.

"Itachi," she greeted, more than a bit confused. A dusting of red laid on her cheeks, telling him she had clearly not forgotten their last meeting. "What are you doing here?"

He reached for the pouch sitting at his hip and flicked it open, pulling a mission scroll from inside. Handing it over to her, he explained, "My squad is being sent with Team Kakashi on a mission to Sand. It has been labeled S-class. Your presence is required at the gate in an hour's time."

She took the scroll from his hand, quickly unrolling it and scanning its contents. "S-class? That's reserved for ANBU?"

He nodded. "This mission requires skills found on both of our squads specifically."

She looked back and forth between her samples and the notes laying on the bench next to her microscope. "An hour, you said? I can return these samples and have a bag by then."

He noted that, while she was confused by his appearance, she did not greet him with the same apprehension as last time. He understood that people confronted uncertainty in different ways, and it seemed her natural reaction was to bolster herself with anger and a touch of hostility. He was pleased to find that, while she still was wary of him, she was no longer actively pushing him away.

While he was impatient for her to make a decision, he didn't want to push her back over the edge to anger.

So, he forced himself to nod once and confirm, "I will see you at the gates in an hour, then."

He then turned and stalked out of the lab, leaving her to collect her things. They had a mission after all.

* * *

Sakura made it to the gate with five minutes to spare. While it had taken her some time to correctly seal and store the samples in their secure container, her bag from her previous mission was still mostly packed. She only had to throw some freshly laundered clothes and her re-stocked medical kit before heading right back out the door.

By the time she arrived, everyone but Kakashi was already ready and waiting. He arrived at the eleventh hour rather than his customary 20 minutes late, meaning Tsunade had threatened him, which also meant that this mission was more critical than she thought.

They took off shortly after, leaping through the trees at a breakneck pace. Without meaning to, Sakura found her eyes falling and lingering on the back of Itachi's masked head. She had never been on a mission with him before, and could barely comprehend why they were working together now. Her position as the Hokage's apprentice had allowed her a peek at his files to see just what kind of missions he usually was called for.

Espionage. Assassination. Recovery.

ANBU squad Alpha was the best the village had to offer, and their missions were no walk in the park. The scroll Itachi had shown her provided only a vague outline of the mission parameters - an emergency diplomatic mission to Suna - which left her mulling over just what exactly their role here was.

Luckily, it seemed she wasn't the only one left wondering.

"So, what gives, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto called from behind them. "What exactly are we doing following an ANBU squad into Suna?"

Even Sasuke, it seemed, was curious, "They don't exactly need backup from us."

From her position leaping next to Kakashi, she could see, even through his mask, that his expression was uncharacteristically serious. "Not the kind you would normally expect."

That left her only more confused. "What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei? What's going on?"

To her surprise, it was Itachi, some distance ahead of them with his team, that answered her. "There's been an attack in Suna," he informed them seriously. "The terrorists have captured the Kazekage. My team will be pursuing them after gathering more information in Suna."

The Kazekage? Kidnapped by terrorists? Sakura somehow managed to push down her shock and ask, "What will we be doing in Suna?"

"Your personal connections with the Kazekage and his family will assist us in gaining vital information," he explained. "Additionally, a member of the Kazekage's family was injured while fighting one of the assailants. He has been poisoned and is currently in critical condition."

"Hn," she heard Sasuke reply next to her. "So that's why Sakura is here."

The twisting feeling in her gut at his dismissal was nothing new, a mix of rage and exasperation and sadness that she pushed down time and time again. He wasn't doing it on purpose, she told herself. He was just being his usual oblivious self. She would prove that her place was earned on this mission.

However, as soon as the word's left Sasuke's mouth, Itachi, defying physics, turned from the branch he had landed on, reached out, and grabbed Sasuke by the collar as he attempted to pass him, pulling him to an abrupt stop.

" _Sakura_ is here because she has medical experience that nearly surpasses the Hokage and is the world's leading expert in poisons. _Her_ position is critical to the success of this mission. _You_ are here, otouto, to ensure she makes it safely to Suna and is able to carry out that mission. Do you understand?"

For once, Sasuke kept his mouth shut. After several heartbeats of tense silence between the brothers, he managed to dislodge himself from Itachi's grip and nodded once stiffly before turning and continuing on as if nothing had happened.

Sakura could not say the same. She remained frozen in place on the branch directly behind Itachi for some time.

What the hell was that?

She was still thinking about the encounter several hours later when they stopped for a short break. A warm feeling lingered in her chest as she popped a soldier pill in her mouth and collected her teammate's water bottles, despite the fact that Sasuke was still not meeting her gaze.

It was one thing for Itachi to extol her virtues in the name of pursuing her. It was another thing entirely to defend her against the idiocy of her teammates, much less his own little brother.

As she bent down to the small river flowing nearby their campsite, she thought back to the conversation she had had with Ino a few days ago.

 _True to form, less than 12 hours after Itachi had escorted her hand-in-hand out of the tower, Ino had knocked down her door and threatened Sakura with years worth of curated, personalized blackmail to reveal the juicy gossip that she had selfishly been keeping from her best friend for the past few weeks._

 _Knowing Ino was like a dog with a bone once she scented secrets, Sakura obligingly revealed everything that had transpired between her and the Uchiha heir. From his first innocuous appointments at the hospital, to the first time he took care of her after she collapsed in her office, to the meal where she realized she was in over her head._

 _And, of course, she shared the intentions Itachi had presented her with during their last confrontation on her balcony._

 _Ino had absorbed all of the information Sakura was giving her with grim determination, the crease between her eyebrows deepening with every passing minute. When Sakura finally finished, she took a moment, nodded once, then grabbed the pillow she was resting against on her couch and began smacking Sakura over the head with it._

" _Ow! Ino! What the hell? What are you_ doing _?"_

" _Beating some sense into you," she declared, while continuing her assault, "since Tsunade-sama obviously didn't do enough of that. Then, I'm going to go over to your training ground and pummel the pathetic excuse for humans that your teammates claim to be, except I'm trading the pillow for kunai."_

" _What?" In her confusion, Sakura was struggling to get a grip on the pillow, "what are you talking about?"_

 _Obviously feeling like her point had been made, Ino eased up on the beating. "Years of training with the Hokage and becoming a world-renowned kunoichi, and you are still stuck with that inferiority complex that your godforsaken teammates instilled in you every moment of your genin career."_

 _A perfectly manicured nail was shoved right into Sakura's face. "The village's most elite, eligible, beyond-all-comprehension_ sexy _ninja sees the brains behind that big ole forehead of yours and decides to flirt outrageously with you, but you, Patty Pitiful, are so wrapped up in the delusion that you aren't good enough for anyone that you make every effort to push him away from you."_

 _Sakura didn't know where to start. "I am not-"_

" _Can it, Patty. I'm not done yet because after listening to you complain for an hour, all I hear is that you are just as smitten with the Uchiha as he is with you."_

"What _?"_

" _Yeah, I said it, and if I can see it after one conversation, then the youngest ever ANBU captain and village prodigy can most definitely see it too, which is probably the reason he hasn't turned tail and fled yet."_

 _Ignoring all of Sakura's indignant sputtering, Ino took her hands and clapped them onto Sakura's cheek, then proceeded to get right in her face. "Now you listen to me, Forehead."_

" _As opposed to what I've been doing," Sakura snarked._

" _Shush!" Ino's beautiful blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm only gonna say this once, so you better listen to me. You are fierce, brainy, smoking hot ninja goddess, but you can be a real idiot sometimes. I am not gonna let your stupid self-esteem issues get in the way of you getting to hook up with Konoha's most eligible bachelor. Uchiha Itachi likes your brain and your booty, and even bothered to tell you as much using big boy words."_

" _That is definitely not what he said."_

 _Ino pouted. "I'm paraphrasing. You like the fact that he's nice enough to throw out your nasty protein bars and make you a real lunch, but scary enough that you don't have to worry about eating him alive like every other man you've tried dating."_

 _Sakura opened her mouth to deny it, but no cohesive argument was forming in her brain._

 _Seeing this, Ino nodded smugly. "That's what I thought. I'm not saying you have to marry the guy, but don't you dare throw away this golden opportunity because of some false perception you carry around. Now," she declared, finally giving Sakura space to breathe. "While you continue to overthink this, I am going to procure a bottle of wine, and we are diving headfirst into just what a good kisser Uchiha Itachi is because, now that you've scooped him up, I can only live vicariously through you."_

 _Despite her best efforts, a small smile was forming on Sakura's face as she shook her head in pure disbelief. "How can you be the best cheerleader and the biggest bitch I've ever met all at the same time?"_

 _Ino, completely unapologetic, flipped a tendril of blonde hair over her shoulder and replied with a smile. "Years of practice."_

It took a few more days for her to realize it, but, as much as she would deny it, Ino was right. After going through each one of their interactions and examining them objectively, Sakura couldn't refute that Itachi was a good match for her. He was interested in her work both inside and outside the hospital. He challenged her without putting her down. He took care of her, even when she didn't think she needed it.

Plus, she could take a minute and agree with Ino that he was undeniably the most attractive man she had ever met.

There was no logical reason for her to push him away, except for her own fears and insecurities, which, Sakura finally decided, simply wasn't acceptable.

The decision was made. She was going to let him pursue her, and maybe she would even do some pursuing of her own.

Bolstered by her resolve, Sakura finished filling up her teammates' water bottles and stood from the river bank. Turning to circle back to the campsite, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she caught sight of a dark figure emerging from the tree line.

He was imposing in his ANBU gear, with his stark, bone mask pulled over his features, but Sakura was anything but afraid of him. When he reached up to pull the mask aside and settle his dark gaze on her, her heart began to pound for entirely different reasons.

Determined not to be the Patty Pitiful Ino accused her of being, Sakura met his gaze head on. "Thank you, for what you said earlier."

Itachi's head tilted just slightly, as he continued to examine her. "I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

She nodded. "I know, but, still, you didn't have to."

His eyes narrowed. "I did. Sasuke will never learn to treat you better, otherwise."

The warm feeling his words had instilled earlier just kept growing, and, despite the nature of his words, Sakura found herself smiling fondly. "Yeah, well, Sasuke's a special brand of idiot."

His lips curled at their edges, a hidden smile from someone who understood what she was saying. "You haven't even seen the half of it."

Laughing breathlessly, Sakura paced forward until only a step of space separated her from Itachi. He remained leaning against one of the trees that lined the riverbank, his posture seemingly relaxed, but she could see how carefully his eyes followed her movements.

Taking a big, bolstering breath, she forged on, "I also wanted to thank you for being honest with me the other day. I've thought quite a bit about what you said."

His smile grew slowly. "Don't worry. I will not press you while we are on such a critical mission."

"Oh." Sakura did her best to hide her disappointment. Of course she came to a decision at the least convenient time. "I guess that makes sense."

As soon as the words left her mouth, his gaze sharpened and, suddenly, he wasn't leaning so casually against the tree. When he stood up to his full height, Sakura had to tip her chin to look up at him. It was gratifying, she found, to see so few words have such a response on him.

He leaned closer until she could see flecks of blue in his coal-colored eyes. "As soon as we return, you will tell me what you've decided."

For the first time since their courting began, Sakura felt like she had the upper hand. The smile that was already on her face grew wider, bolder as she found the nerve to tease, "We'll see."

Her smirk was reflected in his expression. Moving oh-so-slowly, he reached for her hand and lifted it in the space between them. Carefully brushing his lips across her palm, he replied, "We will."

* * *

Chaos erupted the instant they stepped foot into the Village Hidden in the Sand.

As soon as they passed through the gates, the Kazekage's sister sought out Sakura and directed her towards the hospital, where her brother lay in critical condition. Their teams followed behind, picking up details about what exactly had transpired in the past 24 hours in Suna.

Two terrorists had gone against an entire village - one guarded by a jinchuuriki, no less - and had walked away with the Kazekage in their possession.

It was simply unfathomable.

They arrived in the OR and found Kankuro writhing in unimaginable pain on the operating table. Sakura took one look at him and began tying up her hair with grim determination.

"Everyone out," she directed. "I need room to work."

They had followed her orders without question, splitting up to perform their own duties and get to the bottom of this international incident. They met with the gate guards and the ANBU platoons, gathering all the information they could about their new enemy. It wasn't until a few hours later, in the middle of a briefing with the village elders, that Temari joined them once again.

Her expression was grateful. "Kankuro is in stable condition."

The whole room sighed with relief that something had gone right today.

One of the Elders, a woman by the name of Chiyo, narrowed her gaze on Temari. "The Konoha medic?"

Temari nodded. "His exposure to the neurotoxin was too advanced to waste time on developing an antidote, so she extracted the poison directly from his system."

Chiyo's frown deepened. "That's impossible, she's too young for such an advanced technique."

"Not our Sakura, believe it!" Naruto crowed proudly before Sasuke elbowed him in the ribs.

Itachi cut in smoothly before the conversation could be derailed any further, rising to his feet. "Where is Sakura now?"

Temari blinked. "She took the sample she removed from Kankuro and went down to the labs. I gave her full access for the duration of her stay."

"Thank you."

Pushing his chair in behind him, he stalked out of the room before he had to hear more protestations from Chiyo about giving a Konoha nin access to their prized labs, as well as Naruto's loudmouthed rebuttal. One of their village escorts had remained outside the room during their meeting and was able to lead him to the labs Sakura had disappeared to without any trouble.

It was strikingly similar to her lab space in Konoha. Stainless steel shelves in nearly the same layout lined the walls. This lab was slightly smaller, but the equipment and supplies looked largely the same.

And just like last time he had seen her in a lab, she was bent over a microscope, frowning at a series of sample slides. This time, however, she looked up from the scope as soon as he entered the room.

"We seem to be repeating ourselves," he commented dryly.

Instead of joking with him, she greeted him with a somber expression. The look on her face was not promising.

He pulled out a stool from under the bench and dragged it over to sit next to her. "What is it? What have you found?"

"A connection," she answered grimly. "Luckily, I was studying the poison I pulled from Orochimaru's victims right before we left, or else I wouldn't have seen it."

He stiffened in surprise. "They're the same?"

She shook her head. "Not quite, but they seem to have the same core structure. Normally, I would just write it off on them both being neurotoxins, but this is far too complicated to have been made by multiple people. Whoever poisoned Kankuro is working with Orochimaru."

He absorbed this as she bent to write something in the lab notebook by her scope. A connection between the terrorists and Orochimaru had been just what he and his team had been looking for all day, and, yet, Sakura had been the one to find it in her lab. It appeared that he was going to include her on both aspects of their mission. Normally, he would hesitate to cross mission lines so readily, but Sakura already had the necessary clearance from her role as the Hokage's apprentice to help them.

"Have you heard of an organization known as Akatsuki?"

She turned to face him once more, her brow furrowed with confusion. "Enough that I know the name, but not much else about them."

"They are a newly-formed organization composed of missing nins from every nation," he explained as she moved to clean up her workspace. "We have been attempting to track their origins and movements, and discovered that Orochimaru may have had links with the organization."

She paused in front of the lab freezer. "Orochimaru was Akatsuki?"

He nodded. "This poison link could confirm it. It is fortunate you managed to get some away from Kabuto."

She waved away his praise like she always did. Straining on her tiptoes, she struggled to place the samples on the top shelf of the freezer and replied offhand, "It wasn't a big deal, really. It wasn't the samples Kabuto was after."

It wasn't the words themselves so much as the way she said them that made him pause. Kabuto hadn't fought her for the samples? He had thought that was the reason Kabuto attacked her in the first place.

It seemed to click for him the same moment Sakura realized she had said too much. As his eyes narrowed on her, she looked away from the freezer and met his gaze with a poker face of her own.

"Kabuto wasn't after the samples. He was after you."

She continued to watch him carefully. "You're forming your own conclusions," she replied, neither confirming nor denying his statement.

Itachi felt his hands clench as the pieces fell into place all at once in his head. "Kabuto was using the civilians to see if he could counter the jutsu on Orochimaru. When he couldn't do it, they brought you in to see if you could."

Seeing the gig was up, Sakura sighed deeply and leaned back against the door to the freezer she was still standing in front of. He watched as she closed her eyes and dropped her head back to rest fully on its surface. "I'm not even sure I could do it," she answered quietly.

But that wasn't the question he wanted answered. "Sakura, why did you not inform the Hokage of this?"

Opening her eyes, she lifted her head and turned to face him. "If I told Tsunade-sama that Orochimaru was after me, then she would have put me on immediate lockdown within the village. If I've learned anything, it's that she becomes especially unreasonable with anything concerning him."

"Perhaps it's because she knows better than most what he is capable of," he noted pointedly.

"Maybe, but I can't do my job locked down in my apartment, and I am not scared enough of Orochimaru to let my patients and teammates fend for themselves, while I'm locked away like a pretty princess in a tower."

He wanted to argue with her. He wanted to haul her over his shoulder and drag her back to Konoha, putting her under that lockdown. Personal experience told him that Orochimaru was no small enemy, and, if he had his eye on Sakura, then she was in genuine danger.

He leaned against the counter and, in an uncharacteristic display of agitation, rested the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, exhaling loudly. But if she _had_ told Tsunade, if she had remained in the village, safe and protected, then their mission here would have already been a failure. Kankuro would be dead. Their only lead would have gone undiscovered.

He couldn't fault her logic, not when it had led them this far. He couldn't let his own personal desire to keep her safe interfere with the success of the mission.

A quiet question interrupted his circuitous thoughts. "Are you going to send me home?"

Blinking, he slowly rotated, only to find her standing, chin down, looking for all the world like an academy student waiting to get scolded. Her posture and the meekness in her voice did not sit well with him, and he became further determined to reassure her that, in the end, she had made the right decision.

"You were right."

She went from a chastised child to a gaping fish in a matter of seconds. "What?"

"You were right," he repeated clearly. "Your expertise and discoveries are key to the success of this mission. We couldn't afford to have you under lockdown."

She opened her mouth to reply, but Itachi quickly held up a hand. "You will, however, be the one to inform the Hokage the truth as soon as we return to the village, and I will be keeping an even closer eye on you from now on."

For a moment, she said nothing, merely looked at him with a searching gaze, obviously trying to discern something from his expression. He returned her look, having nothing to hide from her. He had said his piece and meant every word.

Remaining mute, she approached him with slow, careful steps, moving closer and closer, until she could go no further. He remained seated on the stool as she stood between his bent legs. A soft touch on his clenched fist on his thigh had him releasing all of the tension in his grip.

Still searching his face, Sakura seemed to find something that satisfied her because she smiled gently, the way she had in the clearing by the riverbank, then leaned forward and brushed her lips against his.

It took an effort of will to remain still, to let her come to him and remember that they were on a mission. Her touch was light, sweet, and conveyed an affection and gratefulness that went beyond words and stole his breath.

When she pulled away, it took all of his restraint to keep himself from pulling her back. She stood up to her full height, then pulled the hand on his thigh up to the space between them, kissing his palm as he had earlier. The same small smile graced her face.

"I'm counting on it."

* * *

Because, sometimes, we all need a friend like Ino to beat some sense into us.

I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter! Stay safe and healthy, and please leave a review to let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**_Protein Bar:_** _Sometimes, it's the most insignificant details that are the most telling._

 **I do not own any rights to Naruto**

* * *

Events were set into motion quickly after Sakura's many revelations.

As soon as the remaining poison was removed from Kankuro's system, he regained consciousness and provided them with a retelling of his battle with the Akatsuki member, not sparing a single, chilling detail of the Puppetmaster.

Not only that, but, as soon as he managed to unclench his fingers, a critical piece of evidence was given to them. The namesake black cloak with red clouds. Finally, physical proof of the rumors they had been chasing for months, and now, with Kakashi on their team, they also now had adequate means to track their quarry.

It would mean, of course, that they would have to enlist Team Kakashi, rather than wait for the additional ANBU backup that Itachi had requested upon their arrival. He also had to consider the fact that Gaara would more likely than not require immediate medical assistance once they did manage to retrieve him. Sakura's presence would undoubtedly be necessary.

Unsurprisingly, this was not seen favorably by the Sand Council. However, they had little other choice but to approve sending his team as well as Team Kakashi after their stolen Kazekage, while their ANBU teams remained to protect the village. Their only stipulation was that the Elder Chiyo would accompany them on their journey, to ensure Sand's best interests were maintained on the mission.

Itachi saw little problem with allowing the Elder to accompany them on their journey, so long as she could pull her own weight.

Within 12 hours Team Alpha, Team Kakashi, and the Elder Chiyo were on the trail of the Akatsuki pair, following Kakashi's nin-ken across the countryside.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long until they ran into trouble.

A large, unfettered chakra greeted them less than a day's travel from the gates of Suna. Immediately, Itachi examined the terrain and found suitable ground for them to meet their new opponent. As soon as they landed in the spacious clearing, a large blue-skinned nin appeared, resembling more shark than man.

"Hoshigaki Kisame," Shisui informed them immediately. "S-class missing-nin from Mist. One of the Seven Swordsmen."

"I'm flattered," the nin known as Kisame noted as he unsheathed his monstrosity of a sword from behind him.

"The Seven Swordsmen," he heard Sasuke note quietly behind him. "Like Zabuza."

Briefly, Itachi remembered that Team Kakashi had experience with the Seven Swordsmen in a deadly mission that had shaped their young lives, an encounter that nearly cut their shinobi careers short. But this man was not just one of the previous Seven Swordsmen. He was clothed head-to-toe in a cloak of black with red clouds, and, according to the Bingo book, this man had executed the remainder of the Seven Swordsmen from Mists ranks. This was beyond anything Team Kakashi had faced.

His decision was immediate.

"My team will remain and take on Hoshigaki," he ordered. "Team Kakashi and Chiyo-sama will proceed in pursuit of the Akatsuki members that hold the Kazekage captive. We will join and provide backup when we are finished here."

Team Kakashi followed his order without hesitation. "Hai, Taichou," they responded before leaping one-by-one back into the trees.

Sakura, who had been positioned next to him, was the last to do so, and, though they were on a mission, though he knew this was the wisest course of action, he couldn't help but reach out to her as she bent to follow her team. At the feel of his fingers around her elbow, she stopped and turned to face him, her expression puzzled.

He said nothing for a moment, but, finally, too quiet for anyone else in the clearing to hear him, he intoned, "Be careful."

His words made her features soften for a split second, before a fierce light re-entered her eyes. With a final nod, he released her elbow and watched her disappear into the tree line.

"Yo, ANBU-san, are we going to fight, or are you going to make goo goo eyes at your girlfriend all day?"

Itachi said nothing in response, merely turned and slowly let his bloodline limit activate.

* * *

"What the hell was that about?"

Sakura wondered if it was physically possible to roll her eyes any harder than she was currently doing.

"Sasuke, now is really not the time. We have a mission to think about."

"So you can flirt with my brother during the middle of a mission, but I'm not allowed to ask about it?"

Her eye was beginning to develop a telltale twitch she seemed to only get around her teammates. "Nope."

"But Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura is right, Naruto, Sasuke," Kakashi scolded from his position as point. "We have a mission to think about."

On any other occasion, she would be sticking her tongue out at Sasuke and blowing him a nice raspberry.

"If she doesn't want to talk about her new boyfriend now, we'll just have to wait until we save the Kazekage to interrogate her."

She didn't have to turn around to feel the disapproval radiating off of the Elder that followed in step behind them. "You Konoha nin are all so unprofessional. It's a miracle you can accomplish anything with the way you carry on."

Sakura's eyes were going to get stuck in the back of her head if she kept this up. "For the last time, it's none of any of your bus-"

Her tirade was interrupted from the sudden cacophony of Kakashi's nin-ken barking in a signal she had learned to recognize. They were getting close.

Not two minutes later, they were met with a large rock structure, protected by a series of seals that littered its surface. All of Kakashi's hounds confirmed that the scent continued on _behind_ the rock, and they could feel the pulse of more than one powerful chakra signature to confirm.

"I will take point. Naruto, Sasuke flank me. Sakura," Kakashi ordered tersely, "break it down."

Pulling her gloves, Sakura gathered her chakra in her clench fist. "With pleasure."

Rearing back, she unleashed her monstrous strength in a single blow that brought the boulder crumbling down. Immediately, she fell into step behind her boys, watching their back and protecting Chiyo.

Once the dust settled, they were greeted by the sight of two more cloaked nins. One, a creature resembling a scorpion, she recognized from Kankuro's description. The other was a tall blonde shinobi that bore a disturbing resemblance to Ino.

She didn't have time to ponder that further, though, because the blonde was seated on top of the body of the Kazekage they were so desperate to save.

"Get off of him, you bastard," Naruto roared from her left. Cutting her eyes to him, she noted with a sense of alarm that his sunny blue eyes had turned a hellish red, and his features had sharpened in a way that resembled more fox than man.

Rather than be alarmed by his outburst, the blonde grinned in a way that made Sakura want to plant her fist in his face. "You want your little Kazekage? Then you'll have to catch me first!"

It was then that Sakura noticed the giant white bird settled behind the pair. She watched it come to life and grip the Kazekage in its large beak before taking off with a powerful gust of air.

Without a moment's hesitation, Naruto sprung into movement, leaping out of the caves and pursuing the Kazekage and his captor.

"Damn it," Kakashi cursed. "Sasuke, with me. We need to calm him down. Sakura, you and Lady Chiyo take care of this one."

"Hai!"

Sasuke turned to follow Kakashi, but flashed her a quick smirk as he passed. "Be _careful_."

"Sasuke, when I'm finished with this one, I'm coming for you _first_."

* * *

Itachi had seen battle enough to know that victory was not as black and white as the stories portrayed.

Their win over Akatsuki had resulted in the retrieval and resurrection of the Kazekage, an act that would no doubt permanently solidify the alliance that existed between the two villages. Not only that, but they had managed to gain valuable information about several different Akatsuki members, and dealt a blow to the organization in the form of Sasori's death.

They had not, however, emerged unscathed.

Both Shisui and Kakashi were still resting and recovering in the hospital following their battles. Kisame had managed to put Samehada in the path of Shisui's Shunshin, a feat Itachi had never seen before. Kakashi, it seemed, was recovering from his use of the Mangekyou Sharingan, something Itachi wasn't even aware that he possessed. He made a mental note to question him more about it once they had returned to Konoha.

In the meantime, he had something else to attend to.

In one of the debriefings he had attended earlier in the day, one of the other Sand Elders, Ebizo, informed him that Chiyo's funeral would be taking place the next day. Despite the intensely secretive and private nature of their culture, he was adamant about extending an invitation to Sakura.

" _In her final moments, she spoke of Sakura with great respect. I never thought I would see the day my sister would lay down her past to fight alongside a Konoha nin. Something happened in that cave that changed her mind. I know she would want Sakura there with her tomorrow."_

He had intended to seek her out earlier, but her time in the hospital and his time meeting with Suna leadership had kept them apart. Though it was now late into the evening, he wanted to give her time to consider Ebizo's offer.

Stopping in front of her quarters, he knocked firmly and settled in to wait for her to wake and come to the door.

However, he found himself surprised to immediately hear the sound of footsteps making their way towards him. Several locks tumbled, and the door swung open to reveal her surprised face.

"Itachi," she greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"May I come in?"

Her surprise quickly gave way to a flustered welcome that he couldn't help but find endearing. She waved him inside and turned to close and lock the door once more. Stepping into her living room, he noticed she had been given the same suite he had, one that had a small kitchenette and living space separate from its own bedroom and bathroom.

"How are you feeling," she asked, walking into the room behind him. "Genma told me you were wounded during your fight with Kisame, but I didn't see you in the hospital."

Itachi fought the urge to roll the aching shoulder he had managed to dislocate while dragging Shisui away from Kisame. "It was nothing serious."

Suddenly, she appeared in front of him, a frown crossing her delicate features and hands firmly planted on her hips. "I've heard that tone enough from all of my teammates to know that's not true."

He thought about brushing it off again, but took one look at her narrowed gaze and knew she would not be letting it go. "I may have damaged something putting my shoulder back in its socket."

"I knew it," she seethed reaching up towards him. Rather than touch him, she kept her hand level over the top of his shoulder and brought the green glow of her chakra to life. "You shouldn't be so cavalier about shoving your joints back together. You've torn your labrum and damaged part of the joint capsule."

It took her a matter of minutes to fix the damage done to his shoulder and ease the ache, but, he found that something that should have been simple for a medic of her caliber to heal had left her visibly drained in a way that made him pause. He was tempted to activate his sharingan and assess her chakra levels, but knew it would only earn him another scolding.

His eyes strayed from her wan features and caught on a bandage wrapped firmly around her upper arm. Though he was aware of the ultimate result of her battle with Sasori, he hadn't yet been given any details regarding their fight.

Carefully, he lifted his fingers and brushed them against her injured arm, immediately gaining her attention.

"You, also, did not have an easy fight," he noted quietly.

Something unfamiliar crossed her face, but, before he could question it further, she took a step away from him, placing herself just out of his reach.

"I need a cup of tea," she blurt out suddenly. "Something herbal, I think. Would you like some? I'll make a pot."

As she moved to step by him, he took her by the shoulders and firmly, but gently directed her to the couch in her small sitting room.

He smoothly cut across any protests she made. "You are tired. Sit. I will make tea and be back shortly."

He made his way to the kitchen and found the tea pot already sitting her stove. As he turned on the faucet and began to fill it, he was surprised to find a colorful mug in several pieces at the bottom of her sink. Realization crept slowly over him as he threw the broken pieces in her trash and finished making their new mugs. Sakura was doing her best to keep herself together, but was obviously struggling, which he should have expected. She more likely to shoulder her burdens on her own than turn to another for support.

His suspicions were only confirmed when he returned to the living room, only to find that she was up and moving around again, searching through several different medical texts she had been loaned from the Suna archive.

"Sakura," he called as he set the mugs down on her coffee table. "Sit down for a moment."

"I just need to look something up really quickly," she replied in what was supposed to be a blasé manner, but only came out sounding slightly frantic. "I have to return these books before we leave for Konoha, but I still need them to figure out-"

"Sakura," he called again.

In the middle of flipping through several pages, her hand caught on the edge of the book and sent it tumbling to the floor. "Damn it," she cursed, already reaching down to retrieve it. "I just -"

He caught her hands before they could make it any father and was only slightly surprised to find them trembling. "Sakura."

The unfamiliar look he had glimpsed earlier returned to her face again, and, this time, Itachi recognized it for what it was. Sakura was at a place where fear met shock and exhaustion.

Her eyes were wide and bright with tears as a haunted whisper escaped her lips. "I can't stop shaking."

He didn't hesitate to pull her towards him and fold her into his embrace. She came without a fight, fisting her hands tightly in the front of his his shirt, as if trying to force them to hold still. Once she was in the circle of his arms, he found that it was not just her hands, but her whole body that was quaking. Without thinking, he removed one of his hands from her lower back to gently rub it down the length of her spine over and over again.

Her face was buried deeply in his chest, and, when she continued to speak, he found he had to rest his cheek against her temple to even hear her.

"It was awful," she whispered into his collarbone. "They aren't human, Itachi. These are monsters. How are we supposed to face them?" He could feel the way her breath hitched slightly, tucked as she was against him. "How are we supposed to keep Naruto from them?"

He tightened his grip on her even further, frustrated by his inability to chase her new nightmare away. "You have something they do not."

He felt her huff against the skin of his neck and couldn't help but be amused. "Pink hair? Annoying teammates? Anger management issues?"

"Your humanity." She stilled in surprise against him. "When you face monsters, it's the thing that becomes most important, because it separates you from them. You determination to save Gaara already helped you defeat one Akatsuki member. They will not get to Naruto because you will not let them."

Gradually, her shakes began to die down, and her breathing evened out to match his. He held her throughout, stroking her back until she gathered enough strength to pull away from his warmth. When she finally did, she peered up at him with a small, grateful smile.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He nodded, saying nothing, not needing to.

Her gratefulness quickly gave way to embarassment when she finally took note of how close they had become. Nervously laughing, she stepped away from him, face bright red, and moved to the coffee table where their tea was waiting for them.

"Sorry about that, I guess the last couple of days really pushed me over the edge."

From his position behind her, he watched as she reached for one of the mugs on the low table only to flinch suddenly, hissing out a breath as her hand reached for her abdomen. In a flash, he was by her side, heart pounding as he supported her and laid his hand gently over her own.

"Sakura."

Her reply was automatic. "I'm fine."

His eyes narrowed on her expression, as he could see the effort she took to breath deeply and even out her features, masking the pain her movement caused her.

"What happened?"

Stubbornly, she shook her head. "It's fine really. I was hurt during our fight with Sasori, but Chiyo managed to heal me on the battlefield."

The more she denied, the less inclined was to believe her. Gently turning her to face him, he forced her to meet his gaze. "How were you injured?"

"Itachi-"

" _How_ , Sakura."

She was quiet for a moment, determined not to back down in front of him. However, after a few seconds, her shoulders slumped slightly under his hands as she sighed and admitted, "It was a sword."

His whole body went cold in a way he had never experienced before. He was filled with a secondhand terror that he had no way to combat now that the danger was already gone. He found that he could not unclench his hands from her shoulders as the sudden realization rose that he had almost lost her so soon after she had managed to appear in his life.

Sakura seemed to sense his unmitigated panic because she lifted her hands to his cheeks and used her grip to slowly pull his face down until his forehead rested against hers.

He could feel her breath on his lips as she reassured him quietly. "I'm all right. It's okay. He's gone now."

Looking down past her face, he saw that in the process of lifting her arms, the hem of her tank top had lifted slightly, enough for him to see the edge of a bandage. Without meaning to, his hand found its way to her side, tracing under her shirt to see how far her wound went. It didn't take him long to discover traces of blood blotting the white fabric.

"Your bandage needs to be changed," he told her quietly.

Her head shook gently against his. "I can do it later."

He would have none of that, though. Seeing her med kit on the table out of the corner of his eye, he pulled away from her and bent to retrieve it.

* * *

"Itachi, really, I can take care of it later."

He didn't even bother responding. He simply led her over to the couch and sat her down at the edge as gently as possible as he knelt between her legs in front of her. It was as if she were suddenly made of glass, his grip was so careful. However, his hands never left her, like he couldn't keep his fingers from tracing her skin.

Sakura knew that recovery from battle was as mental as it was physical. She had already proven it in the way she had insisted on taking care of his shoulder. It didn't matter that she had been nearly out of chakra, or that any medic could have easily fixed his labral tear in the morning. She had needed to feel him, to make sure that he was okay, to reassure herself that he had made it out alive.

So, when he handed her pain medication, she swallowed the pills down with her tea. When he started cutting her bandage away, she obligingly held her pajama shirt out of the way. When he traced her wound with his fingertips and asked again how she was injured, she answers him truthfully.

"Sasori evaded one of our attacks, and managed to position himself behind Chiyo. I stepped in the way of his katana and was run through."

She could feel the way his whole body tensed at her words and knew that he hadn't realized the full extent of her injury. Slowly, his hand moved from her side to her back where his fingers sought the twin to the wound he had already found.

Sakura could almost see the way that his thoughts were churning behind his eyes as he moved back and forth on her skin between her incisions and gave him a minute of quiet to process his emotions.

However, she could have never predicted the next words out of his mouth.

"I should not have left you."

Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn't his regret. She wondered if he would admonish her for getting in the way, but instead he blamed himself for her injured state, for giving the order that had put her in Sasori's path.

She reached for his hand and stopped it midway on its circuitous path. "You couldn't have predicted this would happen," she told him, "and, remember, we came out the victors here."

He stared into her eyes, searching for a moment, before nodding and returning to his work. Carefully, he cleaned her wound with alcohol and applied a salve she had made earlier, then, slowly and methodically, he had her lean forward so that he could re-wrap her bandages.

When he was finished, he put everything back exactly the way he found it in her pack and handed her her tea, which she accepted with a quiet "thank you."

"Chiyo's funeral will be tomorrow," he informed her quietly.

She nodded and found that her throat burned slightly with unshed tears. "I know. Ebizo found me earlier today."

He stood up to his full height. "Then you should get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day."

The thought of being alone again paralyzed her for a minute, and, before he could move to take a step away from her, she managed to catch the edge of his shirt in her hand.

Not having the courage to meet his gaze, she looked down at her toes muttered her request to the floor. "Stay. Please."

Seconds of heart pounding silence followed, and suddenly she felt very childish. She released her grip on his shirt as if it had burned her. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me. You don't have to."

However, instead of walking away as soon as he was freed like she expected, Itachi reached for her fallen hand and used it to pull her up from the couch. Without looking back at her, he led her through the familiar layout of the apartment to her bedroom, releasing her only to remove his pouch and his sandals and place them neatly by the bed.

She had already been wearing her pajamas when he arrived, so, careful not to disturb her new bandaging, she lifted the corner of her sheets and slipped underneath them.

A few seconds later, another weight shifted the mattress and she felt the warmth of his body behind her. One of his arms smoothly slipped under her pillow while the other rested hesitantly on her hip.

"Are you in any pain," he asked quietly, his breath brushing the hair at the top of her head.

Her side ached, but she would never admit to it. The need to be held outweighed the pain. She reached for the hand at her hip and pulled it firmly over her side to rest on her heart.

He seemed to understand. He entwined their fingers and their legs together before breathing a sigh behind her.

It was first night since her battle with Sasori that she slept peacefully

* * *

Here's another chapter!

Sorry this took so long! For some reason this one just refused to be written the right way.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think!


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